Hundreds of baby lambs live with their mothers in large flocks. Each lamb seems to us exactly like all the others. But am mother sheep knows the difference. No matter how many lams there are in the flock, she can always pick out her own baby, because it has its own particular odor. The minute a lamb is born, the mother sniffs at it. From then on, she remembers exactly how it smells. Deer, buffaloes, cats, dogs and many other animal mothers know their babies by smell.

A mother penguin knows her own chick. Dozens of chicks stay together in groups while the grown –up birds go fishing in the ocean for food. When a mother gets back, she waddles through the whole hungry crowed of babies and refuse to feed any, her own. People who study penguins are not quite sure, but they think the mother and father both recognize their baby’s voice and also its particular shape and size.

A baby penguin seems to recognize its parent’s voice. When its mother or father calls, it comes running. When a baby chick or duck hatches, it usually sees first of all the big dark shape of its mother. From then on, it recognizes that shape and follows it. But if ducklings happen to see a dog’s shape first, they will follow the dog around just as if it were their mother. They will even follow a large stout scientist who is experimenting with ducks –if they see him first!

Why does a dog wag his tail?

Suppose one dog walks up to another, slowly wagging his tail from side to side. Does this mean he wants to make friends? An expert on dog behavior has found a surprising answer. This kind of tail –wagging is a sign that the dog has a habit of bossing over other dogs. If the newcomer is used to giving in, the two will perhaps get along together. But if the newcomer also gives a boss –dog wag, a fight may easily start. If a dog wags his tail while it is tucked down close to the legs it shows that he is used to obeying.

Some tail-wagging, of course, goes along with pleasure. But it is not something a dog does because he wants to show how glad he is to see you. The movement of his tail starts automatically when his eyes tell his brain that you are there. Scientists have not done much experimenting to find out that what gives animals pleasure or how they show it in different ways.

Why do people snore?

You can snore when you are awake. Just let all this stiffness goes out of the soft flap at the back and top of your mouth. Then take a strong, deep breath with your mouth open. The flap moves back and forth, like a window shade fluttering in the wind and the noise it makes is a snore.

When you sleep, your mouth and throat relax, and often you breathe deeply. The fluttering in your throat increase if you sleep on your back.

It usually stops if you turn on your side or if you make so much noise that you make your self up.

Men usually snore more than women. Nobody knows exactly.

Why do we sometimes see a ring around the moon?

A big ring of light sometimes appears around the moon. When this happens there is a thin cloud made of tiny ice crystals floating high in the air. Some of the light rays from the moon pass though or between the ice crystals. When these reach our eyes, we see the moon.bu8t when other rays strike the crystals, a strange thing happens. Instead of going straight on, the rays are bent. When they reach our eyes, they seem to come from a circle that much bigger than the moon.

This ring is called a `Hello’.

Rings appear around the sun, too, and for exactly the same reasons.


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